Welcome to my Cracker Box

     I am a True Florida Cracker. What does that mean? Cracker is a word that is often used to denote a Florida or Georgia native who is backward, bigoted, and a braggart. I'm actually a double-Cracker; my daddy's family were Georgia Crackers; my momma's family were, and are, Florida Crackers.I will claim some braggarts and plenty of family who are Crackers in the Scottish sense of the word--chatty, gossipy, and jokers.It is a source of pride, in my family, to be able to tell a story well.One gets more respect if that story is funny.
      However,  I also think of my Cracker family in a different sense. Florida Crackers get their name from the long whips that they cracked over cattle as they drove them to market. Various members of my family have worked with cattle or farmed. It was not an easy life, and it formed my Cracker heritage.  My Crackers are resourceful; my momma made dolls from dog weed and "built" herself a play house by scratching one out in the dirt of the front yard. They are resilient. Imagine living in a hot, humid climate with no air conditioning, wearing long skirts and petticoats, They had little money for doctors and relied on home remedies. They fought rattlesnakes, bobcats, insects of all kinds and sizes, and Florida's hurricanes and thunderstorms; and they still thrived. My Crackers had, and have, a strong work ethic; they did whatever was necessary to feed, clothe, and house their families.No legal work was considered to be beneath them. I was taught from childhood that when I worked, I was to give my best--and then a little more. The pay didn't matter; it was the pride in a job well-done. They had faith. Church, prayer, and the Bible were important. Some of my ancestors were illiterate, but they still knew the Lord and Creator of the land they loved so well. I remember Granddaddy falling asleep while reading his Bible. His prayers are part of the Jones's family legend.
     This blog is about those Crackers and my experiences and stories about them. Some of the stories will be my stories; some will be family stories; some may be a bit apocryphal, but that goes with being a true Cracker. I hope that you will get to know the characters in my family: Granny (or Reatha Mae or The Old Critter), Granddaddy, Grandmother (Grammer), Daddy, Mommy, Uncle Son, Aunt Reba (Illa Eugenia), Larry, Doc, and a host of other people who inhabit my Cracker box.